And there are questions about whether Jordan — whose tenure in management was hardly a success in Washington — is the right man to oversee the basketball operations of the two-year-old NBA franchise.

Brought in last week by owner Bob Johnson to be his largest minority partner, His Airness already faces a momentous decision:

Who to take with the No. 3 pick in the upcoming NBA draft. After that, the question becomes whether Jordan can help Johnson overcome several early blunders and sell the Bobcats to a city which so far has shown scant interest in the team.

The Bobcats sold out just seven of 41 home games last season, the first at their new downtown arena, and ranked 22nd in the NBA in attendance. They still haven’t sold naming rights to the building and are locked in a long-term television contract which hides most games on a little-watched cable news channel.

"There have been a number of missteps and false stops and starts," said sports marketer Marc Ganis, who heads Chicago’s Sportscorp Ltd. "They needed to do something, and this (bringing in Jordan) was the biggest splash they could have made."

When Johnson announced on June 15 that Jordan had bought a stake in the team, he was emphatic that Jordan would not be involved in daily operations.

"Michael is not a day-to-day employee. He’s not an employee at all. He is an owner who I have given the authority to oversee all of the basketball player-personnel decisions," Johnson said.

But that has raised concerns about the team’s direction in the one area where the Bobcats have appeared to be on firm footing — building a playoff contender.

Johnson has said Jordan’s new role — his official title is managing member of basketball operations – means coach and general manager Bernie Bickerstaff will take all major player decisions, such as trades and signings, to Jordan for approval. Previously, it was Johnson who signed off on such decisions.